


what kind of heart (doesn't look back).

by redhoods



Category: Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-02-04
Updated: 2012-02-04
Packaged: 2017-10-30 13:58:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/332496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redhoods/pseuds/redhoods
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>No. Tyler isn't his ex. Tyler chickened out, ran away, didn't look back. No, Tyler is just some jerk he knows from home that he may or may not have been in love with at one point in time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	what kind of heart (doesn't look back).

"Get out."

Jeremy ignores Tyler and continues to the room, dropping the box in his arms on the bed, sitting one of the bags next to the box and the last bag on the floor next to the bed, sitting down on the edge of the bed and scrubbing a hand over his face.

"Didn't you hear me? I said 'get out'," Tyler growls softly, standing from his desk, determination clearly displayed in his eyes.

Jeremy simply stares at him, taking in the changes. Tyler looks older, but it's too be expected after a year. There's some stubble along his jaw and a pair of glasses perched on his nose. He overlooks Tyler's clenched jaw in favor of looking over the rest of him. "I'm not leaving."

"The hell you are," Tyler growls, but doesn't move from where he stood, taking in Jeremy himself. Jeremy's taller - was that possible?, broader - if _that_ was possible, and he's filled out more. Tyler remembers hearing from Matt that Jeremy played football his last two years of high school.

"I was assigned to this dorm, so I'm staying in it," Jeremy shoots back, looking calm like he's not arguing with his ex. He nearly shakes his head at himself. No. Tyler isn't his ex. Tyler chickened out, ran away, didn't look back. No, Tyler is just some jerk he knows from home that he may or may not have been in love with at one point in time.

\--

Tyler complains to the dorm advisor about needing a new roommate but when he fails to come up with a decent argument, he's stuck with Jeremy.

They avoid each other as much as possible. Stay out late, leave early, tip toe around each other's schedules. Anything to avoid being in the room with each other as much as possible. Some of Tyler's grades improve, some slip, but he's okay with that as long as he doesn't have to face Jeremy.

\--

They've kept it up for a month. Avoiding each other at all costs. It is until Tyler's invited to a bar not far from campus to celebrate a friend's birthday. He shows up a bit late and no one is surprised but him when he finds Jeremy Gilbert among the group gathered, smiling and talking to everyone.

Tyler waits until Jeremy is separated to grab his arm and pull him to the side, "What the hell are you doing here?"

Jeremy lifts an eyebrow, exuding this nonchalance that Tyler doesn't remember him having back when he was in Mystic Falls. "Celebrating my friend's birthday. What are _you_ doing here?"

With a soft growl and a glare, Tyler tosses Jeremy's arm away from him and stalks off to the bar intent on drinking the problem away not even stopping to consider that one can't drink away a 6'4, 160 something pound male.

\--

Jeremy is stretched out on his stomach on his bed, typing something on his laptop while chewing on the end of his pen when Tyler stumbles in, bleary eyed. He only spares the older male one glance before going back to whatever it is he's doing.

Tyler pouts some as he makes his way over to the bed, tripping over his own desk chair in the process and ending up face planting into his comforter. He hears Jeremy snort and can only throw up an obscene hand gesture in return, giving a pitiful moan into the plaid blanket under him.

Sighing, Jeremy drops his pen and pushes himself off his bed and crosses the few feet that separate their beds, reaching out and pulling Tyler to lay on his back. "Come on, Ty, let's get you out of this."

Tyler's eyebrows furrow and he stares at Jeremy, trying to make sense of what's going on as he watches the other male pull his shoes off, just sitting there. He lets Jeremy pull his jacket off and holds his arms up obediently when he tugs at his shirt.

Shaking his head, Jeremy wanders to Tyler's dresser and finds a pair of his pajama pants in the top drawer and tosses them to the older man, hitting him square in the face before he returns to his bed. Tyler continues to stare once he pulls the pants off his face, just holding them in his hands.

Jeremy squirms a little after a few minutes of Tyler's eyes on him and turns his head a fraction, "What?"

Tyler shakes his head and shifts, trying to undo the buckle of his belt but only ends up fumbling with it and frustrated with himself.

Giving an over dramatic sigh, Jeremy pushes himself off his own bed once more and goes to Tyler, undoing his belt, tugging it loose. "You really shouldn't dri-" the end of his sentence is cut off when Tyler presses his lips to Jeremy's.

Shaking his head, Jeremy gently presses Tyler back. "Stop it, Ty, just get dressed and go to sleep," he murmurs before returning once more to his own bed.

Tyler's too drunk to decipher the look on Jeremy's face but he takes being pushed away as rejection so he manages to get himself into his pajama pants and goes to sleep.

He avoids the room entirely for the next two weeks.

\--

The third week, Tyler runs out of clean clothes in his car and people to crash with so he wanders back to the dorm. He finds Jeremy asleep at his desk, cheek pressing to a piece of paper and pen still in his right hand. He sighs and drops his bag at the end of his bed before going over and gently pulling the pen from Jeremy's hand, sitting it on the desk before nudging the other male's shoulder. "Jere."

Humming softly and blinking slowly, Jeremy slowly comes to, Tyler slowly coming into focus in his line of sight. "Time is it?" He asks, voice scratchy and low and Tyler tries to ignore it as he turns to locate one of the alarm clocks.

"Just after one," he murmurs softly in response, and gently tugs Jeremy out of his chair and over to his bed, pressing his shoulder until he falls back onto it. "Go to sleep."

Jeremy doesn't lay down though, but his hand wraps around Tyler's wrist as he turns to walk away. "You've been avoiding me," his voice soft, not accusing but stating.

Shaking his head, Tyler tugs gently at his wrist. "Go to sleep, Jere," he murmurs softly and frowns when the younger man refuses to let go of his wrist.

"Why?"

Tyler sighs and turns to face Jeremy, opens his mouth to speak and closes it again, shrugging his shoulders. He doesn't have a good excuse.

Jeremy just nods, slowly and almost dejectedly and releases Tyler's wrist, curling up on top of his covers, out like a light in a matter of minutes.

\--

They don't avoid each other as much anymore, studying and working in the room together, mostly in silence. Halloween is approaching and the whole building is alight with excited chatter about the upcoming party.

"Are you going?" 

Tyler looks up from his laptop at Jeremy's sudden question and simply shrugs his shoulders in response. "I've been considering it. You?"

Jeremy shrugs as well, still focused on the text book in his lap, the end of the pen caught between his teeth. "Thinking about it. I'd need to get a costume though," he replies softly and Tyler doesn't miss the glance Jeremy sends his way out of the corner of his eye.

Tyler saves his document and shuts his laptop, standing with a long stretch. "Let's go then," he murmurs, lifting an eyebrow as he pulls on his jacket and finds his wallet.

\--

They end up in town at some old costume shop, laughing at some of the ridiculous outfits together, each with a cup of Starbucks in his hand.

Jeremy sighs dramatically and leans against the rack next to where Tyler is looking. "I can't find anything," he murmurs softly. He moves when Tyler starts looking where he had been, just watching. Tyler stops on a costume and scrutinizes it. "You should do it," he nearly jumps out of his skin at Jeremy's voice in his ear.

He nods and swallows heavily, feeling Jeremy back out of his personal space as he pulls the costume off the rack and holds it over his shoulder. "You still need something, Jere," he points out, looking absently through one of the racks.

Jeremy shrugs his shoulders in one smooth movement. "I'll go as James Bond or something," he states, waving a hand and they go to the register to pay the old woman who owns the shop.

\--

Jeremy smothers a laugh as he does up his tie, watching Tyler struggle with his chaps. He grabs the cowboy hat off the other male's bed and drops it on Tyler's head before batting his hands away, his fingers doing up the laces for Tyler before he straightens out. "All good, cowboy," he states with a grin before he steps back and finishes straightening his tie, grabbing the toy gun off his desk and sliding it into the holster under his suit jacket. He slides on the black sunglasses and the silver Men In Black toy is dropped into his pocket as he follows Tyler out of their room.

Tyler drives to the party because Jeremy doesn't know the directions and it's just easier to ride together. When they arrive, the place is already pretty crowded, and a steady beat is the only thing that can be heard. Jeremy figures it's an attempt to keep the cops away for as long as possible and follows Tyler into the house with a light smile on his features.

They manage to find where the alcohol is being distributed from and they wander off in separate directions, each with a plastic red cup in hand as they do so.

It's been about three hours and Tyler's dancing with some pretty blonde when a commotion arises in the other room. He hears a shout and frowns, wondering what's going on and then there's someone talking to him, some small brunette that he's seen around Jeremy. He doesn't quite catch everything she says over the noise but he navigates his way through the masses to the other room and sees red the second he makes it to the other room.

Jeremy's hunched over himself with his back to the wall out one side of the room, an arm wrapped around the middle and a hand pressed to his eye. There's another guy standing a ways away from Jeremy, breathing deeply and cradling his jaw with his hand.

Tyler starts for him but stops halfway when Jeremy lets out a soft broken sound and calls his name. He settles for glaring at the other guy before he stalks over to Jeremy. "Jere, what happened?" He asks softly and grips the younger male's shoulder gently. He can see Jeremy's getting a black eye and his lip is split and he wants nothing more but to return the favor to the other guy.

Jeremy shakes his head. "Can we go?" He asks softly and Tyler has a flash to the fifteen year old kid that he used to beat up himself and wonders when things changed so much.

He nods slowly and wraps an arm around Jeremy's shoulder, keeping the male pressed to the side as he leads him away and the people part, leaving a path open all the way to the door. Tyler waits until they're at his car to stop and gently take Jeremy's chin, inspecting the damage. "What happened?"

Jeremy frowns, looks down and sighs softly. "I bumped into him. You know, I'm not exactly the most coordinated, and he was drunk and already pissed or something," he talks softly, still not meeting Tyler's eyes.

Tyler knows there's more to it but doesn't press as he opens the door for Jeremy. "Let's get you back to the dorm," he mumbles softly and shuts the door behind Jeremy.

\--

They ride in silence and make their way to the dorm in silence. Tyler drops the cowboy hat on the desk and starts to work his way out his costume, his eyes not leaving Jeremy as he watches the younger teen. He frowns though when Jeremy seems to get frustrated just with trying to undo his tie.

He walks over and gently pushes Jeremy's hands from the knot, undoing the tie and letting it drop before pushing the suit jacket off the other male's shoulders. He starts on the buttons of his shirt then and doesn't have to look up to know that Jeremy's watching him. Once that's undone, it joins the pile on the floor and Tyler pulls Jeremy's undershirt from his dress pants and tugs it up, nearly having to press onto his tiptoes to get it off Jeremy. He sucks in a breath at the dark purple bruises rapidly forming along Jeremy's ribcage.

Jeremy hisses in a soft breath when Tyler's fingers skate over the injury and he shies back from the touch some, sitting on the edge of his bed and pulling his shoes and socks off. Tyler frowns and sinks down next to Jeremy on the bed, watching the other man. "I'm sorry you got hurt."

Waving one hand, Jeremy uses the other to undo his belt and pulls it loose, adding it to his pile of clothes. "It's not your fault," he mumbles softly, turning his head to peer at Tyler.

Tyler watches Jeremy, worrying his lower lip between his teeth before he nods and leans in slowly, waiting and biding his time, wanting Jeremy to have the chance to push him away if he wants. He presses his lips gently to Jeremy's when the younger male doesn't push him away before he pulls back himself and stands. "I'll see if I can find an ice pack or something and an ace bandage," he murmurs softly and wanders out of the room aimlessly.

\--

Things are calm for the next while. Tyler keeps his eye on Jeremy and Jeremy heals slowly and still refuses to talk about what really happened. They talk about important stuff and stupid stuff while hanging out in the dorm.

It's a Friday night and Tyler finds himself on his bed, laptop on his abdomen, watching some movie when Jeremy comes in, looking exhausted. He lifts an eyebrow, watching Jeremy's autopilot motions of setting his bag down and shedding his clothes and getting into his pajamas. "Jere?"

Jeremy blinks a few times and looks over at Tyler, looking like he's in a daze.

Shaking his head, Tyler slides over on his bed and pats the spot next to him. "C'm'ere," he murmurs softly.

Jeremy only nods and pads over, laying down next to Tyler and shifting to see the screen. "What're you watching?" He asks sleepily.

Tyler frowns some at the tone. Jeremy's been working too hard again. He slips his arm around the other male's shoulders, running his fingers along Jeremy's arm slowly. "The Hangover."

Nodding, Jeremy curls into Tyler's side and rests his head on Tyler's chest and Tyler realizes Jeremy's asleep only minutes later.

Tyler smiles absently and runs his fingers gently through Jeremy's hair and turns his attention back to the movie.


End file.
